Manuel Henderson sometimes spends hours per day walking around the area, but not by choice.

It's hard for the 61-year-old disabled California native to get to places such as the hospital, where he gets care for a heart condition, and Walmart. He's been staying at a homeless shelter in Shreveport for a couple of months, and doesn't have have a job or a car.

Thanks to the Bucks for the Bus program at Curtis Elementary School in south Bossier City, Henderson and others like him might soon get some relief. The school recently donated $1,100 to the Salvation Army so SporTran bus day passes could be purchased for people who need them. It's part of the Bossier Schools Helping Hearts initiative, where each school in the parish takes time to do something positive in the community.

"Our goal is to help those in the shelter to become productive citizens of the community," said Terrance Trammel, the facility director of the Salvation Army homeless shelter. Whoever can use them to better their lives usually are the first to receive them, especially when they need to go somewhere like a job interview. "We definitely appreciate what this school has done."

Most of the 470 students at Curtis Elementary were involved in the fundraiser, but one fifth-grader went above and beyond. Cheyenne Gomez, 10, decorated a collection bucket and went door to door (with her mother's help) in her neighborhood to gather $112.40.

"People were very generous," said Cheyenne's mom, Trina Gomez, noting that somebody even gave $20. "Most were strangers, and all we had to do was mention Curtis and they'd give us the change they had in their pockets."

As for Henderson, he said receiving a bus pass would take away a lot of worry.